BackRajasthan govt asks Centre to cut excise duty on petrol, diesel further amid calls to reduce VAT
Rajasthan CM Gehlot said that reduction of the central excise will automatically lead to the lowering of the state’s VAT collection
PremiumRajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said the Union government should further lower the excise duty imposed on petrol and diesel.
The CM said that reduction of the central excise will automatically lead to the lowering of the state’s VAT collection.
Gehlot argued that the state governments levy VAT on the revenue collected by the Central government in the form of Additional Excise Duty, Special Excise Duty and CESS from petrol, diesel and gas.
“In view of the inflation, the central government should make further reduction due to which the VAT collection of the states will automatically reduce in the same proportion," the CM took to Twitter to say.
This comes amid the opposition BJP in the state demanding the Gehlot government to lower the VAT on the two motor fuels. The central government had earlier this week cut the excise duty by ₹5 and 10 on petrol and diesel.
The Rajasthan CM has stated that after the Centre's decision to reduce the excise duty, the state's VAT has also automatically been reduced by ₹1.8 per litre on petrol and ₹2.6 per litre on diesel, which has caused an annual loss of ₹1,800 crore in revenue collection of the state.
At the same time, the chief minister urged the Centre to ask oil companies to refrain from increasing the petrol and diesel prices daily.
“Otherwise, after Deepawali or assembly elections in five states, the oil companies will increase the price and make the benefit of the relief given by the central and state government to zero," he said.
Gehlot said the central government has already reduced the share that all the state governments used to get from the excise duty. Even otherwise, there has been a huge decline in the States’ revenue due to the Covid pandemic, he argued further.
“About ₹5,963 crores of GST Compensation of Rajasthan is yet to be paid by the central government," he added.
States that have not reduced VAT
The ministry of petroleum said on Friday that 14 states and union territories have not undertaken any reduction in VAT yet.
The states include Maharashtra, NCT of Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
On the hand, the most reduction in the petrol prices has been seen in the UT of Ladakh, where the prices have come down by ₹13.43.
After duty changes, the costliest petrol is sold in Rajasthan at ₹111.10 per litre (Jaipur), followed by Mumbai ( ₹109.98) and Andhra Pradesh ( ₹109.05). The fuel is below ₹100-a-litre-mark in most BJP ruled states baring Karnataka ( ₹100.58), Bihar ( ₹105.90), Madhya Pradesh ( ₹107.23) and Ladakh ( ₹102.99).
Similarly, the costliest diesel is now sold in Rajasthan at ₹95.71 a litre (Jaipur), followed by Andhra Pradesh ( ₹95.18) and Mumbai ( ₹94.14).
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
